1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to light emitting diode devices. In particular this invention relates to lighting devices that are configured to provide information.
2. Description of Related Art
Transmitting and receiving signals virtually instantaneously throughout the world has become a common event. Many devices are available for receiving and possibly re-transmitting signals received from computer networks and other networks. The user interface for reviewing these signals can take many forms including, but not limited to, phones, computers, laptop computers, handheld devices, and stand-alone devices. The development of intelligent light sources, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,016,038, has also transformed lighting and lighting control in recent years.
Information abounds through access to the World Wide Web and this information can be received and displayed in many ways on many devices. A computer is one of the primary portals for receiving, viewing and interacting with much of this information. Hand held devices are also becoming increasingly popular for receiving, viewing and interacting with information. The type of information displayed on these devices is also virtually endless. Information such as, but not limited to, financial, weather, sales data can all be downloaded and displayed. The download devices generally allow the user to interact with the data and perform transactions. Gaming software is also becoming a popular on-line activity where a person can interact with the gaming software from a remote location. Gaming is also very quickly becoming an online experience. Extensions of these games allow two or more users to participate in the same game at the same time even when all of the users are at different locations.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has a program in the media arts and sciences named Tangible Media directed by Hiroshi Ishii that has developed an interface called mediaBlocks that is described in mediaBlocks: Tangible Interfaces for Online Media, Brygg Ullmer and Hiroshi Ishii, MIT Media Lab, Published I the Conference Abstracts of CHI99, May 15-20, 1999, which is incorporated by reference herein. The Tangible Media group has the objective to develop human interfaces using physical objects. The physical objects are used to interface with digital media to make the interface easier to use and to create a less complex interface between man and machine. MediaBlocks is a tangible interface for physically capturing, transporting, and retrieving online digital media. For example, a mediaBlock may be placed in a slot next to a white board and the information contained on the white board would be digitally transferred to the mediaBlock. The mediaBlock could then be placed in a slot near a printer and the printer would then print the information from the white board. This eliminates the complex computer interfaces that are used today. This project is dedicated to reduce the complexity of the computer interface that has become commonplace is today's work and play environments.
Another paper from the Tangible Media Group, ambeientROOM: Integrating Ambient Media with Architectural Space, Hiroshi Ishii et. al., Tangible Media Group, MIT Media Laboratory, Published in the Conference Summary of CH198, Apr. 18-23, 1998, discussed the possibilities of ambient controls within an office to increase the awareness of the office worker. In this paper, the authors discuss the sophisticated capabilities of humans' ability to process multiple information streams. Humans have an immense capacity for receiving and interpreting information that is occurring in the background of the activities in which we engage. To take advantage of this capacity, the authors created ambient conditions in an office that corresponded to information being received. For example, the office was equipped with a sound system to provide subtle background sounds such as the sound of a tropical forest. The volume and density of the activity in the forest sound stream would correspond to the amount of email or the value of the users stock portfolio. The office was also provided with a lighting pattern on a wall that changed when activity in the next room increased.
Accordingly it would be useful to provide a peripheral or addition to a standard device to display information in a way in which the user would be alerted to the information without having to interact with the interface. It would also be useful to provide an indicator for displaying information that would be both decorative and informative.
One area where there is a need for information is in connection with vehicles. Information generated by today's vehicles has increased tremendously over the typical car of the past. The instrument panel in today's automobiles and other personal vehicles may resemble an airplane cockpit because of the increased demand for information. This is partially based on the increase in demand for more information and partially because the design is appealing. Control systems in these vehicles are also becoming increasingly complex. To accommodate the increase in complexity, automakers continue to improve the ergonomic system surrounding the driver and passengers. Safety is also paramount and the improved ergonomic system is also designed to reduce driver fatigue and increase his overall awareness to his surroundings.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,579 teaches of a white-light lighting device for an automobile. This lighting device uses a combination of two LEDs to produce white light to take advantage of the lightweight, energy efficient, reduced heat, and reliability of LEDs as compared to incandescent systems. This system is designed to replace incandescent lighting systems by producing white light for the interior of the vehicle or the rear view mirror assembly.
It would be useful to provide a lighting system for vehicles that increased the appeal and design of the vehicle. It would also be useful to provide a lighting system that could convey information regarding the vehicles performance as well as other information.
Data abounds in today's connected world and converting all of the data into usable information remains a challenge. The Internet provides a portal to a vast variety of such information including financial, weather, sports and many other types of information. There are also software programs that generate information such as games, simulators, financial analysis programs and many other software driven applications. During the past several years, technology has provided us with more and more information every year and more and more devices to retrieve the information. We are now a connected world with the ability to receive and retrieve information from many sources including stationary devices such as the desktop computer, gaming platforms, Internet appliances and other stationary devices. We can also retrieve information through mobile devices such as a mobile phone, personal digital assistants, pagers, gaming devices and other mobile devices. Many such devices require user interactions to retrieve and observe useful information. It can be a challenge for any user of these systems to keep up with all of the relevant information provided. It would be useful to provide an information system to simplify or enhance the receipt of information.
Another area where lighting information systems may be needed is in connection with liquid crystal displays. A liquid crystal display (LCD) is an electro-optical device used to display digits, characters or images, commonly used in digital watches, calculators, cellular phones, portable devices and portable computers.
The liquid crystal display contains a liquid crystal material placed between a pair of transparent electrodes. The liquid crystal changes the phase of the light passing through it and this phase change can be controlled by a voltage applied between the electrodes. Liquid crystal displays can be formed by integrating a number of liquid crystal patterns in a display or by using a single liquid crystal plate and a pattern of electrodes.
One type of liquid crystal display, those used in digital watches and calculators, contain a common electrode plane covering one side and a pattern of electrodes on the other with a liquid crystal plane between the electrodes. These electrodes can be individually controlled to produce the appropriate display. Computer displays, however, require far too many pixels (typically between 50,000 and several millions) to make this scheme, in particular its wiring, feasible. The electrodes are therefore replaced by a number of row electrodes on one side and column electrodes on the other side. By applying voltage to one row and several columns the pixels at the intersections are set. This generates the requisite potential to activate the liquid crystal at the intersection of the two electrodes. This method creates pixels that can be activated to generate the characters or images.
There are generally two types of LCD displays: passive and active matrix. In a passive matrix display, the pixel fading is controlled through the persistence of the display. Putting an active element, such as a transistor, on the top of each pixel, can slow the fading. This “remembers” the setting of that pixel and is generally referred to as an active matrix display.
Color-image LCD screens are also available, although more expensive than the monochrome versions, and typically used in computer screens or other devices where it is desirable to display colored graphics. The colored screens are more expensive because of the increased complexity of the system. The colored LCD screens operate by generating pixels of red, green and blue light. These colored pixels are close enough, with respect to the user, that when energized they form colored pixels. These systems may produce a particular color through the liquid crystal or they may have a filter over the pixel to adjust the color. One particular method of generating a colored LCD screen is to provide a backlight that generates red, green and blue emission in three time segments. The liquid crystal provided in the screen has a transmittance of approximately 4% and will allow red, green and blue to pass. A very bright light source is therefore required to generate enough light that 4% transmission is acceptable for the screen brightness. Generally, the timing of the light sources is such that the three colors are on for predetermined segments of time. For example, the red may be on for the first one third of the time segment, the blue may be on for the second one third of the time segment, and the green may be on for the third one third of the time segment. Then the pixel is energized at the same time as the particular color is energized. The liquid crystal is essentially the window for the light that is generated in the background. Energizing the liquid crystal and the light simultaneously will emit a particular color. For example, if the pixel is to be red, the liquid crystal is energized during the first time segment. If a combined color is required, such as yellow, the pixel will be energized during the first (red) and third (green) sub-periods. An improved method involving four sub-periods is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,115,016 to Yoshihara. These color-image LCD screens use backlighting to emit the light through the liquid crystal to facilitate a screen capable of projecting color images.
Many monochrome-image LCD screens are backlit to provide better contrast between the liquid crystal and the background. This is especially important in the monochrome-image LCD screens because the display is designed such that the crystals reflect light that is incident on front surface. The liquid crystal may reflect light directly or the liquid crystal may block light that is reflected by the surface behind the crystal. As a result, these systems appear almost black when there is limited ambient light irradiating the LCD surface. The display is primarily reflecting light and if there is no light impinging upon the display there is no light to reflect. An example of this phenomenon is when you attempt to view a cellular phone or calculator LCD screen in the dark and it cannot be read. To eliminate the problems with reading the screen in low light conditions, these displays are generally provided with a backlighting system. This system provides light from behind the liquid crystal and the energized liquid-crystal blocks the light when activated.
The backlighting systems generally comprise a flat surface that is backlit or edge-lit to provide a surface of light behind the LCD panel. The lighting for these panels is generally accomplished through fluorescent, incandescent or light emitting diode (LED) lighting. The surface of light is then blocked by the energized pattern of liquid crystals providing dark areas where the crystals reside and allowing the areas of non-activated crystals to emit light from the backlit surface. The backlighting systems may come in one of several colors and provide constant lighting conditions when activated. The choice of color is generally selected by the manufacturer to provide high contrast for the image. For example, many monochrome-image LCD screens use a green backlit panel to provide high brightness behind the energized liquid crystals. Unlike the color-image screens, these screens do not produce colored pixels. The liquid crystal may transmit a small portion of the light from the back lighting system, however, the back lighting dominates any transmission and the pixel typically appears black or gray.
Another area where information can be conveyed by lighting is in the area of indicators for packages. Packages carrying virtually anything can easily be shipped around the world these days as the transportation and shipping industries continue to grow. Many packages are shipped over-night and many packages are sent through conventional means that may take weeks for the package to reach its intended destination. In all of these shipping scenarios, the quality of the product can be compromised without the shipping company or the shipper ever being aware. The first indication of shipping problems may be from the customer and this can end customer relations very quickly.
Packages are monitored for external damage by the shipper and the customer. When a customer receives a damaged box, she is automatically aware that the contents may also be damaged. The customer may still open the package but she will likely reserve her right to reject the goods if they are damaged. When goods are sensitive to shipping conditions such as, but not limited to, time, humidity, temperature, orientation, electrical conditions, physical vibration, or physical shock, the goods may be damaged due to inadequate handling. In these situations, the shipper may not be aware that the required conditions were met and the customer may receive inferior or unusable product as a result. Audible indicators are available to monitor the condition of perishable foods, see New Food Packaging Technology to Offer Audible Warnings, Asia Pulse, Oct. 11, 2000. There are also glass vials and spring-loaded balls that are used to show that a shock threshold has been exceeded or that a package has been turned upside down.
It would be useful to have an intelligent visual indicator indicating the shipping conditions of a package. It would also be useful to have an intelligent visual indicator for many other applications.